Penn says it very well.

It seems tragic to me that some people are only on their best behaviour because they believe God is watching them and will punish them otherwise. It makes me wonder how they would behave if they didn't believe they were being watched and judged.

So perhaps explain that you have your own moral compass, and don't need to be in fear of reprisals from God in order to follow it.

If the only thing that keeps you from being a shitty person is fear of eternal torture, I have some bad news for you.

Morality is based on your level of empathy. If you feel empathy and altruism, you act in a moral manner. Religious morality, on the other hand, is based on fear of repercussions, and therefore your motivation is not necessarily moral at all.

I like to turn the tables and use their dog or something. How could anyone have morals without Rover? At least I know rover created the universe. When they say I sound ridiculous, i point out that they have no evidence for their claims and they sound just as ridiculous to atheist. The difference is I can prove their dog exist making my argument stronger. Never been much of a conversation after that.

When I'm asked "how can you be a moral person if you're an atheist?", I always ask, "How can you be a moral person if you're only moral because you don't want to piss off your god?"
Then I ask, "How can you worship an extortionist?"

It's called being defensive. These people hate it when someone actually asks questions about religion. It makes them nervous. I would ask them how can being a Christian makes them moral and BTW what is moral to them?

Easy answer. As easy as it is to be religious and immoral.

Many religious persons live with mental blinders on. They simply reguse to see anythign outside of their own beliefs or experience.

I forget where it was from, but it goes something like this: If the only thing keeping you from doing immoral things is eternal damnation and threats, then you're just a psychopath on a leash and not really moral at all. Oh, and the fact that they see "I don't know" as an act of rebellion is insane, really just being intellectually honest.

"I don't know. How can you be a moral person and be a (insert religion)?"

I would suggest that you tell them the burden of proof is on them. You should ask ,how can you believe in a book that consists of flying chariots, talking snakes, and resurrections. We may not know how the universe began ,but that doesn't mean we conclude that an invisible guy in the sky created it. Dr. Michael Shermer talks about intentions agency and other discoveries thar show man created god and not the other way around. You could use these as arguements.

Religious people are often surprised that we don't have horns growing out of our craniums. Morality that comes from introspection and an abhorrence of chaos seems much more sound than one that is handed down from a variety of deities on high.

I answer that I chose to do the right thing because I want to do it, and because I am looking for a reward in the afterlife, or the fear of punishment in the afterlife. I have no ulterior motive to be a moral person.

These are ignorant people who don't understand what morality is... if they did, they wouldn't bother you about it.

Well you might tell them that you love life, and your love of life does not include any irrational faith in some mystical life after death which seems to pervade most religions. The primary way religions obtain a hold over people is their insistence of salvation after death. This belief in eternal life has caused so much pain, suffering and abuse that it ought not be tolerated by any sane person.

Whenever Christians start asking me how I can be "moral" without "God," I ask them, "Why do you have to outsource your morality to someone else? What prevents you, as a human being from being moral?" I will never sell my soul, and I will never outsource my morality. This way I get to be the man I really want to be (or closer to it than if I sold my soul), and I can maintain my integrity.

That's what religious people tend to not see. None of it matters. I am more concerned with the here and now than I am with what comes after. I live, I love, and do what I can to share that. Religion didn't tell me to do that; my heart did.

Love your responses quick and sharp wish I were as cute! I think I might be prone to hesitation and waffle!

"How can you even have a relationship with someone of the same sex? Who's the 'woman' and who's the 'man'?"

"How can you be in a relationship with more than one person at a time?? There's no way that could work..."

"What do you mean, you don't like sex? What happened to you to make you like that?"

"Why aren't you interested in dating? What's wrong with you??"

How can you do these things that I never examined and don't understand, and that conflict with my worldview?

Welcome to Earth. People are stupid.

I make sure people know me for a while before I get into that conversation. It depends on where I am socially with that person. I think I had it hard in the beginning, when people were actually afraid tp even approach me at work, because we spend so much time together it's going to come up.

I like to tell people that we were born and taught our morals and add our ethics later to merge who we were and who we were meant to be. People seem to like that answer. Because it doesn't point fingers and brings to light that both are important.

Simply tell the questioner, "Your question is intrusive and rude." Then do not respond further.

I understand your frustration. I don't get how some God fearing people seem to think you need something like a Bible to help determine between good and bad. Morality is a choice you make for yourself, not because of some belief in a God.

I tell them I don't need reward and or fear to be good I just am.